A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Kitchen
For my final post in celebration of the Bouchon Bakery Beverly Hills’ opening today, we were given a tour of the kitchen there by Manager Svetozar Kardzhev. He graciously showed the key working areas of the kitchen that now support all aspects of Bouchon Bistro, Bouchon Bakery and Bar Bouchon.
As mentioned in the last post, I spoke with Beverly Hills’ Mayor Barry Brucker about the restaurant. One of the key aspects he likes most is their kitchen which he called “a piece of culinary art.” I couldn’t agree more.
They have separate refrigerators for key types of ingredients (“Poisson” for Fish; “Jardin” for Greens; “Viande” for Meat and Poultry; etc.) which prevents cross contamination. Here Manager Svetozar shows the lobster which is stored with the “Poisson” …
Wow, wish I could store my veggies at home like this … so spacious and organized!
… and wish I had help like this at home to help prepare the veggies for me!
The “Bakery” portion of the kitchen runs 24/7 and supports all aspects of the restaurant’s bread and baked goods needs. We watched as croissant dough was being made, with the baker explaining how he laminates the dough with butter.
And voila! The final croissants …
… and more bread products. The smell was beyond!
In all of the Bouchon properties (Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Yountville), there are TV cameras set up in the kitchen so they can see the activity in the other restaurants (French Laundry and Per Se also share TV kitchen cameras). When things are busy, it helps to know others are busy too? Kind of like working out at the gym vs. at home with a DVD?
In all Thomas Keller properties (Bouchon Bistro, The French Laundry and Per Se), “Sense of Urgency” signs are posted near clocks in the kitchen …
At French Laundry and Per Se, they also have “Finesse” signs posted as inspiration.
We decided to end our day at the Bakery by having lunch there, trying the Ham & Cheese Baguette, Smoked Salmon on Black Sesame Kaiser Roll, a “TKO” chocolate cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. The Bakery was bustling, with people almost appearing to want to dive into the display case at times …
They offered us the option to eat lunch at Bar Bouchon which we chose (although we could have eaten in the Beverly Canon Gardens space in between the restaurant and the Montage Hotel). The food was lovely and, in typical Thomas Keller style, we were checked in on just enough to feel taken care of but not in an overbearing way at all.
So, Bouchon Bakery Beverly Hills – thank you for delivering on your promise of outstanding food quality, ambiance and service. And, especially, thank you for introducing me to the Kouign-amann! Xo.